....Reading Nyong’o’s story, I asked myself: was there anything I could have done to save her or others from finding themselves in such a situation?

The truth is, many of us knew something bad was going on, and failed to speak up. But what did we know, and when? I’d heard rumors of Weinstein hitting on women, rumors of assistants tasked with procuring other women for him, though no one that I knew personally told me anything specific; and I also knew from personal experience about his bullying behavior. But I didn’t chase those stories, nor did I mention Weinstein by name in a column in July when I recalled my own unpleasant encounter with him at Cannes.

Harvey Weinstein: how lawyers kept a lid on sexual harassment claims
Zelda Perkins says she was harassed by the powerful Hollywood producer. Now she wants to expose the legal process that kept her claims a secret for 19 years
Matthew Garrahan in Los Angeles October 22, 2017

....
After recounting their stories to solicitors at Simons Muirhead & Burton, a London legal firm that specialises in media work, the two women were advised to seek a damages claim from Mr Weinstein. A negotiation began with Allen & Overy, the heavyweight London firm that was acting for the producer of movies such as Pulp Fiction and The English Patient.

A sum of £250,000 was agreed, to be divided equally between the two women, and a legally binding contract — a non-disclosure agreement — drawn up after several punishing late-night sessions. The women signed it and for almost two decades have not spoken about their experience.....

“I want to publicly break my non-disclosure agreement,” she says. “Unless somebody does this there won’t be a debate about how egregious these agreements are and the amount of duress that victims are put under. My entire world fell in because I thought the law was there to protect those who abided by it. I discovered that it had nothing to do with right and wrong and everything to do with money and power.”
....https://www.ft.com/content/1dc8a8ae-b7e0-11e7-8c12-5661783e5589

Zelda Perkins, who worked as Weinstein's assistant in Miramax's London office, claims in a new interview with Financial Times that her boss sexually harassed her and assaulted her female colleague, leading them to a settlement and strict NDA.

Dozens of women have come forward in recent weeks with claims against Harvey Weinstein, accusing the veteran film mogul of sexual assault, harassment, misconduct and rape. Many of their stories carry the same details — from hotel rooms and manipulative behavior to intimidation tactics and aggressive cover-ups — while provoking the same questions: How much did his assistants know, how tightly wound were their non-disclosure agreements and where are they now?

Zelda Perkins, who worked for Weinstein during his tenure running Miramax Films, has just answered all three in a bombshell of an interview with Financial Times. In doing so, Perkins becomes the first former staffer to come forward and publicly denounce an NDA, shedding light on how Weinstein relied on a network of lawyers to help prevent staffers from speaking out about his alleged bad behavior. She also claims that there were clauses in her contract that could have led to Weinstein's dismissal nearly two decades ago.

The report comes just days after members of The Weinstein Co. staff released a statement requesting that they be let out of their NDAs "so we may speak openly, and get to the origins of what happened here, and how."....

Former Stoke City apprentice George Blackstock claimed he was forced into a degrading ritual known as "gloving" in the early 1980s
By Aletha Adu
22nd October 2017

THE inquiry into football's sex abuse scandal is reportedly examining claims teen footie starlets were pressured to take part in horrific initiation ceremonies.

The "hazing" rituals allegedly date back to the 1980s and 1990s, according to the Mail on Sunday.

Former Stoke City apprentice George Blackstock claimed he was forced into a degrading ritual known as "gloving" in the early 1980s.

The newspaper reports that Mr Blackstock claimed he was dragged "kicking and screaming" to the first team dressing room and then sexually assaulted with a goalkeeper's glove as punishment because the tea he made for senior players had gone cold.

Mr Blackstock is reportedly due to give evidence to the inquiry in the next few weeks.

The Football Association review into child abuse claims in the sport was launched after Crewe defender Andy Woodward spoke out.

It led to others to come forward with historic allegations involving scouts at clubs including Manchester City and Chelsea.

Members of Manchester United's youth team dubbed the Class of '92, including David Beckham, Paul Scholes and Robbie Savage spoke out their own ordeals.

Beckham claimed he was forced to perform a sex act while looking at a photograph of a senior player.

Scholes was made to get int o a tumble dryer which sparked an asthma attack.

Mr Blackstock first raised his complaint in 2008, and several other apprentices supported his claim with similar allegations, the newspaper reported.

But according to reports, his claims - which did not include sexual abuse accusations - were rejected by Preston County Court in 2015.

Staffordshire cops and the Crown Prosecution Service said there was insufficient evidence to go further.

In a bid to keep pushing, Blackstock launched civil claims against goalkeeper Peter Fox for physical assault, and Stoke FC for "vicarious liability", suing for £170,000.

Fox was cleared of the "gloving claim".

Blackstock is due to give evidence for the inquiry - led by Clive Sheldon QC - in the next few weeks....

The FA review was set up after former Crewe player Andy Woodward claimed to have suffered sexual abuse as a boy in the 80s.

His disclosure - in which he waived the right to anonymity given to alleged victims of sexual offences - prompted a tide of similar complaints.

Colo. Police Investigating if Voodoo Ritual Was Involved in Deaths of 2 Girls Found Decomposing in Car
By Christine Pelisek October 13, 2017

Colorado prosecutors are investigating whether a voodoo ritual was involved in the deaths of two young girls whose bodies were found last month in a car on a vacant property near Norwood, PEOPLE confirms.

“It is part of the investigation by the sheriff’s office,” 7th District Attorney’s Office spokesperson Sherry McKenzie tells PEOPLE. “It is a very concerning case whenever you find two young children deceased.”

Nashika Bramble, the 36-year-old Florida mother of the two girls, and 37-year-old Madani Ceus, of Haiti, were both charged late last week with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths. Both are also charged with two counts of child abuse resulting in death.....

“The allegations are they are the kids of Medani Ceus,” Harvey Palefsky, the attorney for Nashika Bramble tells PEOPLE.

Quartet Was Part of Traveling ‘Healing’ Group: ‘An Apocalyptic Kind of Thing’

Bramble, Ceus, Archer and Eden are purportedly members of a traveling healing group that promotes prophesies about the end of the world.

“It was an apocalyptic kind of thing,” the source says. “They are guided by their dreams. They will stay some place until they have a dream and then they go someplace else. They think they can heal people.”....

Blair’s stepfather, Donnie Blair, tells PEOPLE his stepson moved to Colorado around five years ago to grow medical marijuana and met the group in the spring.

“They were telling him they were in a jam, and he is so sweet he offered them a place to stay,” he says, adding, “Over time they broke him down. They pretty much brainwashed him.”

Donnie says they told him that “no one loved him and his friends and family are the devil. They made him burn his glasses and burn his clothes.”

Donnie says while allegedly under their control he allegedly burned his entire crop of marijuana and forced him to stop feeding his dog. “They told him his dog was sick and not to feed it anymore and don’t bring it to the vet because it is not God’s way and the dog could die in peace in a natural way,” he says.